WELCOME Thank you for joining us today! I pray that your Thanksgiving holiday was a joyous time with friends and family. As I reflect on what God is doing at The Crossing Church, I can’t help but give praise and honor to God. I want to continue to encourage each of you to find a place to use your time, talents and resources. This is a big family, and it takes all of us doing our part to make it come together each weekend. Everyone counts. Your Pastor, Greg and Tamara Dumas Pastor Greg & Tamara Dumas Lead Pastor
UPCOMING EVENTS Pastor Greg has been walking us through the story of Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the protective wall that surrounded Jerusalem. Through this series we have learned that we have a good work to be a part of, and that by putting our hands to this work, we can accomplish the impossible. On the weekend of December 11-12 we will be taking a special offering that will give us the chance to invest in what God is doing through the ministries of The Crossing Church. Something to consider as you give: There are some companies who will match their employee’s charitable giving. Please be in prayer as to how God would lead you to give.
The Crossing en español The next Crossing en español launch meeting will be on Sunday, Dec. 12, at 5pm. After the service, we would like to have time to fellowship and share the flavors of our Latino diversity. Please bring a traditional dish from your country to share with others potluck style. Pastor Greg and Pastor Dave want to taste our Latino foods! Please email Pastor Dave at dmurphy@ crossingonline.org or his assistant Irma Colon-Ewing icewing@crossingonline.org with what you are going to bring. Invite all your Hispanic friends for a Latino Service and food.
La próxima reunión de The Crossing en español será el domingo, 12 de diciembre a las 5:00 pm. Después del servicio nos gustaría tener un tiempo para conocernos y compartir los sabores de nuestra diversidad latina. Por favor traiga comidas tradicionales de su país para compartir con todos estilo “pot lock.” ¡Pastor Greg y Pastor Dave quieren probar nuestros platos latinos! Por favor manden un email a Pastor Dave dmurphy@crossingonline.org o a su asistente Irma Colon-Ewing icewing@crossingonline.org con lo que van a traer. Inviten a todos sus amigos hispanos al servicio y a disfrutar de la diversidad latina.
Local Missions South Tampa Health & Rehab: Saturday, Dec. 4 at 10:30am to Noon – Come help us fill South Tampa with the sounds of the Christmas season as we carol down the hallways spreading our Lord’s love. Bring the whole family; we guarantee you will be blessed. For more information contact Joe & Cathy Miles at cjmiles13@aol.com or 813.908.2015.
The 26.2 Discipleship Process is an 18-week process that will help you discover and apply biblical truths in your everyday life and learn how God has designed you to connect, serve, grow, give, and reach. We encourage everyone to join in the race. Register for the 26.2 Discipleship Process at: www.crossingonline.org/262DP.
For more announcement details: www.crossingonline.org/announcements
Saturday, November 27 Sunday, November 28
WELCOME TO THE
CROSSING CHURCH
Nehemiah Project Nehemiah 3:28-30; Isaiah 58:6-12
Pastor: Tim Ingram
SCRIPTURE Nehemiah 3:28-30 (NIV) 28 “Above the Horse Gate, the priests made repairs, each in front of his own house. 29 Next to them, Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his house. Next to him, Shemaiah son of Shekaniah, the guard at the East Gate, made repairs. 30 Next to him, Hananiah son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. Next to them, Meshullam son of Berekiah made repairs opposite his living quarters.”
Isaiah 58:6-12 (MSG) 6-9 ”This is the kind of fast day I’m after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts. What I’m interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families. Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage. Then when you pray, God will answer. You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’ 9-12 ”If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people’s sins, If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the downand-out, Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight. I will always show you where to go. I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places — firm muscles, strong bones. You’ll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry. You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You’ll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again.
OBSERVATION • • •
First step to rebuilding – collecting the resources for the repairs (Ezra 1:5-6; 2:68-69). Second step to rebuilding – defend the exposed places so that the work may carry on (Neh. 4:10, 13-14). Third step to rebuilding – put your hands to the good work (Neh. 3:28-30). • Nehemiah and the builders worked with no gaps between builders – there was no section left unrepaired. • The people took personal responsibility to make repairs to the walls that were right in front of them.
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APPLICATION 1. How to repair the wall: (Isaiah 58:6-12)
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PRAYER Lord, the trumpet blast has sounded. You are calling your people to put their hands to the work so that a bright light may shine out into the darkness. Thank You, God, for bringing your hope and peace to a troubled world and using ordinary people to do an extraordinary work. Father, help us to fast and pray correctly, not for selfish gain or religious duty, but that every man, woman and child would know that Jesus is the redeemer who brings light and life to all who call on his name. We are the ones who will repair the walls. We are the ones who will rebuild broken families, broken bank accounts, broken lives. Not by our power or our might, not by our wisdom, nor our abilities, not by our resources, nor our understanding – but only by your Spirit. AMEN!
LIFEGROUPS Use the following as a resource for your LifeGroup to go deeper with this week’s message. We hope this helps you as you “do life together”. Opener: Nehemiah is well known for his abilities as a leader. He not only built up walls to protect families, he also built up people. Nehemiah built sacred walls to provide security for the people of Jerusalem. Share with your group some of the ways you protect the walls of your family, and how does that affect you as a leader. What would you do if one of your walls broke down? When we look at Nehemiah, success was not fame and fortune with financial independence. Success was knowing what God wanted him to do and doing it. But the amazing thing about Nehemiah is he did everything as a team. Do you want to be successful as a family? Then find God’s will for your life and your family, and do it. We were challenged two weeks ago to serve together as a family. Share with your group what that may look like for you. Digging Deeper : Have you ever been used by Jesus to fix someone else’s life? What a joy! What a great thing it is to come home at night, take off your shoes and say, “God used me today.” If you’ve never been able to say that, then you’re missing out on one of the greatest joys of being a Christian. It may be that God wants to use you to fix the life of someone you know. But you’ll never know if you never try to help people. A boat. An airplane. A car: All can be steered, but they all need one thing before they can be steered — they need to be moving. Once you start looking for opportunities to be used by God, God will steer you. But first you have to start moving. In what area of your life do you hear God saying, “Start moving”? Application: There are three important things for us to learn in Nehemiah 3. Everyone has a role in God’s work. We’re all equals in the work that we do. The work that we do, we do together. Did you notice how for many of the people, the portion of the wall they were building was also a part of their own home? Would that make a difference in our time? If the part of the wall that you’re in charge of rebuilding was the very thing that was protecting you, your wife, and your kids, I guarantee, that’s going to be one strong section of wall. There was definitely a corporate benefit for sure. A strong wall meant a strong city. But the overflow of the corporate benefit was a personal benefit. A strong wall also meant strong homes. And how true that is in the body of Christ. When we do the work, and we do the work together, then the result is not only a strong church, but it’s strong homes. It’s strong families. And it’s strong lives. And really it works both ways doesn’t it? The stronger you build your own home the stronger you make the church because of it. And conversely, the stronger you build the church because of your hard work and efforts, the stronger you make your home because of it. Nehemiah was a leader. What is one thing you will do differently as a leader after studying Nehemiah’s life for three weeks?